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Non-League Paper

Is it November already? The FA Cup first round proper is upon us, the
Isuzu FA Vase is flying along and the Step 2 clubs are about to enter
the Isuzu FA Trophy. Here are a few things that have caught the eye
at NLP Towers recently.

Friday Funk
By the time you read this Horsham will have played their FA Cup first
round proper tie at Barnsley on Friday evening.
It wasn’t on telly — that was reserved for Step 4 side Sheppey United
as they took on Walsall — but moved to Friday night at the request
of South Yorkshire Police, who are apparently stretched resource
wise.
Why the game couldn’t have been played on the Sunday, Horsham
don’t seem to have had an answer but it’s impossible not to feel for
the Step 3 club on one of the biggest occasions in their 142-year
history.
Having to travel to Yorkshire on a Friday night was, without doubt, a
big blow. Hundreds who were planning to make the trip couldn’t —
including the families of players.
But it’s also about the weekend as a whole. Players had to get even
more time off to work, not to mention miss out on the big build-up
that comes with playing in the FA Cup first round. It’s not just about
the result but also the experience.
“It was fait accompli and we had to accept it,” secretary Jeff Barrett
told The NLP at the weekend.

Farnham Flying
One of the trickiest parts of writing for a Sunday publication is being
in the lap of the gods when it comes to Saturday results.
We often joke about The NLP’s Curse — speak to a player or manager
about their team’s excellent winning run and you can almost
guarantee they will lose on the Saturday before the paper is out.
But there were no such worries when it came to Farnham Town’s
incredible start to the season — the Clarets can boast being English
football’s only 100 per centers.